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Dawkins sharp as Duke downs Wake Forest

Jan 20, 2012 - 3:34 AM Durham, NC (Sports Network) - Andre Dawkins and an official took time to share a smile of astonishment, the only time the Duke guard wasn't completely locked in during a first half to behold.

Dawkins scored all 21 of his points on seven first-half treys, helping No. 4 Duke pile up a big lead and roll past Wake Forest, 91-73, at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Dawkins made his trip around the perimeter look easy, burying long distance shots from seemingly every spot on the floor, smiling all of the way back to the defensive end after his seventh triple. The second half belonged to two other guards, Seth Curry and Austin Rivers, who never let the Demon Deacons get close.

"I thought Andre [Dawkins]'s performance in the first half was phenomenal and that gave us that 13-point lead," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

Rivers scored 20 points, Curry added 14 and Ryan Kelly posted a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils (16-2, 4-0 ACC), who have won 44 straight games at home and 63 in a row at Cameron Indoor Stadium against unranked opponents.

C.J. Harris led Wake Forest (10-8, 1-3) with 20 points, while Travis McKie recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards. Tony Chennault donated 13 points and Nikita Mescheriakov 12 in defeat.

"Duke has a lot of fire power, and they were able to do a great job at spacing the court because of their ability to shoot from not one player or two players, but several players," said Wake Forest head coach Jeff Bzdelik.

The first half belonged to Dawkins and Duke. The Blue Devils led 15-9 by the time Dawkins buried his first triple, and there was plenty more to come. His second of the half gave Duke a double-digit lead, 28-16, and he connected on three more over a two-minute span, the final dagger pushing the edge to 37-21.

His final two triples of the half, giving him six in less than seven minutes, put an exclamation point on a shooting exhibition that left the Blue Devils holding a 43-27 lead. Duke went to the locker room with a 45-32 advantage.

Duke held a 24-0 edge in points beyond the arc and a 22-16 advantage on the backboards.

The second half, much like the first, was dominated by Duke's guards. Curry and Rivers scored the Blue Devils' first 19 points of the second half through a variety of avenues. Curry attacked the rim with three layups in the first two-plus minutes and Rivers piled up points from the charity stripe, making four in the first 3 1/2 minutes, the later two opening a 55-35 lead.

A Rivers three several minutes later pushed the edge to 71-49, and Duke rolled over the final 10 minutes. Rivers scored 14 points in the second half, while Curry added 10 over the final 20 minutes.

Game Notes

The two teams make up the ACC's oldest rivalry that started in 1906. Wake won the first meeting 24-10...Duke made 54.2 percent of its shots, including 11 treys...Wake Forest piled up the points at the foul line, making more foul shots (24) than Duke attempted (23).